1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a blind cleaning machine, and, more particularly, it relates to a portable vertical blind cleaning machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Venetian blinds which have horizontal slats and vertical blinds are commonly cleaned in the home business location and at commercial cleaning establishments by the use of hand held brushes and sponge devices which result in a time consuming process and a commercially expensive operation. With Venetian blinds having been in use for a long time, a variety of commercial cleaning equipment has been developed. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,646 which involves the use of separate stationary cleaning and rinsing tanks in which the blind in its drawn together condition is sequentially immersed and then move to a separate blow dry station. This type of equipment is said to be successful for the recently popular mini blind as long as they are frequently cleaned so that a brushing operation not necessary to remove heavier grime, grease and dirt. This type of equipment must have a stationary mounting at a given location or at best be permanently mounted in a mobile truck structure.
Another type of wet cleaning apparatus involves passing the blind through the equipment in a fully extended position over a tank containing cleaning solution in which a lower power driven brush is immersed in the solution to contact the lower surfaces of the blind slats and an upper driven brush which receives cleaning solution sprayed onto the brush for cleaning the upper slat surfaces.
An early attempt at providing more mobile equipment shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,676 which provides a horizontally extendable pan which is placed on the window sill below the blind into which upright supports are attached for movement of spray pipes and brushes up and down a length of an extended venetian blind. Provision is made for draining the pan and for supplying rinse water to the sprays in a second operation and for providing a compressed air connection or a super heated steam connection in a third drying step. The auxilary facilities necessary and the time consumed in a sequential operation performed in a one pan and support structure device would appear to relegate this type of device to a very limited market.
The more popular equipment for blind cleaning has been in the field of ultrasonic solution cleaning. Because this type of equipment is very expensive and costly to maintain, its use has been limited to commercial cleaning establishments. Some of this ultrasonic equipment requires tanks of sufficient size to receive the blind extended position, while others attempt to minimize equipment size by accepting the blind in its fully drawn together condition. In either case, problems exist in dislodging grease and grime without mechanical brushing contact. Most of this equipment is limited to a given blind width and length.
None of the above mentioned prior art devices are particularly adapted to cleaning of vertical blind panels which can be easily detached from the transport portion of the blind. None of the foregoing art suggests equipment that can be made mobile/portable by an individual to the blind site.